Türkiye vs Lithuania for a software or game company
Lithuania raised its corporate rate to 17% in January 2026 and still sits below Türkiye's 25%. It has the second-lowest rent index in this comparison after Türkiye, at 13.7 against 12.3, and it withholds 17% on dividends where Türkiye withholds 15%.
The short verdict
01Where each one wins, 5 measures to 2
Where Türkiye wins
- Dividends, at 15% against Lithuania's 17%.
- Marketing and platform spend, which no Lithuanian scheme reimburses.
- The cost base, about 25% below Lithuania's.
- A much larger labour market.
Where Lithuania wins
- A lower corporate rate, 17% against 25%.
- Rent close to Turkish levels, the nearest of any EU country here.
- European Union membership, banking and hiring rights.
- Local purchasing power 22% above Türkiye's.
02How do Türkiye and Lithuania compare, line by line?
Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 5 and Lithuania takes 2, with 2 level. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.
Tax
| Measure | Türkiye | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax on ordinary profit | 25%source | better for the company17%source |
| Tax on income from software sold abroad | better for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source | Taxed the same as any other profitsource |
| VAT or equivalent, standard rate | 20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source | 21%source |
| Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent | better for the company15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source | 17%source |
Public money
| Measure | Türkiye | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Cash back on ads, hosting and platform fees | better for the company50% of what you spend, rising to 70% when the customers you are targeting are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target listsource | Nothing comparablesource |
| Support for development costs | Yes, through two separate programmes: TÜBİTAK, which funds defined research projects, and teknopark status, which removes corporate tax on software developed inside a technology parkBoth are applied for separately from the export refund, and a company can hold them at the same time.source | An R&D super-deduction and EU funds, with no games-specific national schemesource |
What it costs to live there
| Measure | Türkiye | Lithuania |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source | 50.2, 25% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Rent index | better for the company12.3source | 13.7, 11% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Local purchasing power index | 71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source | better for staff87.5, 22% higher than Türkiyesource |
03What is it like to run a company in Lithuania?
Vilnius is an hour behind Istanbul and about three hours by plane. Lithuania has become a common base for teams leaving Belarus and the region, which gives it a similar profile to Cyprus without the island's tax profile.
04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?
| What you spend it on | Programme item | Paid back | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads and player acquisition | Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% to 70% | 50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841 |
| App store and platform commissions | App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% | 20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537 |
| Hosting and servers | Hosting costs | 50% | 5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384 |
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
05Questions we get asked
Did Lithuania's rate change recently?
It moved to 17% effective from January 2026, up from 16%, which still leaves it well below Türkiye's 25%.
Is it a real alternative to Cyprus?
For teams relocating from the region it has become one, with EU membership and low costs, though it lacks an IP box comparable to the Cypriot one.
What is the catch?
Nothing on the spending side. A studio buying installs from Vilnius pays the same media prices as everyone else with nothing coming back.
Where this comparison comes from
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We build these comparisons because clients ask for them before deciding, and we keep the rows where the other country wins because a comparison nobody believes is worth nothing.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- These pages get rebuilt, not left. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so when one changes the page changes with it.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call06Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/corporate-income-tax-cit-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/withholding-tax-wht-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-20